Temporal associations between low body condition,lameness and milk yield in a UK dairy herd

Previous work has hypothesised that cows in low body condition become lame. We tested this in a prospective longitudinal study. Body condition score (BCS), causes of lameness and milk yield were collected from a 600-cow herd over 44-months. Mixed effect binomial models and a continuous outcome model were used to investigate the associations between lameness, BCS and milk yield. In total, 14,320 risk periods were obtained from 1137 cows. There were 1510 lameness treatments: the most common causes of lameness were sole ulcer (SU) (39%), sole haemorrhage (SH) (13%), digital dermatitis (DD) (10%) and white line disease (WLD) (8%). These varied by year and year quarter. Body condition was scored at 60-day intervals. BCS ranged from 1 to 5 with a mean of 2.5, scores were higher in very early lactation but varied widely throughout lactation; approximately 45% of scores were <2.5. The key finding was that BCS < 2.5 was associated with an increased risk of treatment for lameness in the following 0–2 months and >2–4 months for all causes of lameness and also specifically for SU/WLD lameness. BCS < 2.5 was associated with an increased risk of treatment for SH in the following 0–2 months but not >2–4 months. There was no such association with DD. All lameness, SU/WLD, SH and DD were significantly more likely to occur in cows that had been lame previously, but the effect of BCS was present even when all repeat cases of lameness were excluded from the analysis. Milk yield was significantly higher and fell in the month before treatment in cows lame with SU/WLD but it was not significantly higher for cows that were treated for DD compared with non-lame cows. These findings support the hypothesis that low BCS contributes to the development of horn related claw lameness but not infectious claw diseases in dairy cows. One link between low BCS and lameness is a thin digital cushion which has been proposed as a trigger for claw horn disease. Cows with BCS 2 produced more milk than cows with BCS 2.5, however, this was only approximately 100 kg difference in yield over a 305-day lactation. Given the increased risk of lameness in cows with BCS 2, the direct costs of lameness and the small variability in milk yield by BCS, preventing cows from falling to BCS < 2.5 would improve cow welfare and be economically beneficial.     

Presence of Bacteria on the External Genitalia of Healthy Stallions and its Transmission to the Mare at the Time of Breeding by Live Cover

The current field study used thoroughbred stallions and mares from central Kentucky to investigate the occurrence of potentially pathogenic bacteria on the stallion's external genitalia, based on cultures, and investigated the occurrence of bacteria and type of isolate in the mare's uterus after breeding by live cover to stallions with or without positive bacterial cultures. Fifteen thoroughbred stallions and 206 mares from two central Kentucky thoroughbred farms were used during the 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons. Samples for bacteriological evaluation were taken from the prepuce and postejaculate urethra (n = 201) of stallions. Uterine swabs (n = 264) were collected 12-18 hours postbreeding. For statistical analyses, a chi-squared test was used to test the relationship between stallion culture results and postbreeding uterine culture results, as well as the effect of bacterial types found on the stallion cultures with bacterial types found on the postbreeding uterine cultures. Of stallion cultures, 22.4% were positive for potentially pathogenic bacteria, with Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (51.1%) being the most common isolate. Uterine cultures resulted in a 29.2% positive rate for potentially pathogenic bacteria, with S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus (90.9%) being the most common. There was no difference (P > .05) in the occurrence of bacteria or type of isolate found on uterine cultures after breeding stallions with or without positive cultures. In conclusion, potentially pathogenic bacteria found on the stallion's external genitalia did not affect the occurrence and type of bacterial isolate found in the mare's uterus after breeding by live cover.     

蜀宣花牛体型外貌、线性评定及生理指标测定

[目的]为了充分了解牛群的体型外貌及生理指标情况,我们对牛群体型外貌进行了评定、同时对牛群的毛色、肤色、踢、角及生理指标进行了调查研究。[方法]通过对牛群生理指标测定、体型外貌评定及毛色、肤色、踢、角颜色和形状分析。[结果]表明:蜀宣花牛肉用指数公母牛分别为5.3769和4.0725,低于国外专门化肉牛品种,但也明显高于国内几个比较有名的地方牛品种,由此说明,蜀宣花牛的肉用指数界于专用型肉牛和肉役兼用型牛之间。毛色以黄白花和红白花为主,占90.16%;皮肤颜色以纯粉色和粉色有斑点的为主,占96.92%;蹄质颜色以纯蜡黄色为主,占86.28%;角型以照阳角为主,占93.94%。成年母牛的生理指标分别为:体温平均38.38℃、心跳74.56次/min、呼吸18.74次/min和瘤胃蠕动2.84次/2min;体型外貌线性评定分析表明,蜀宣花牛母牛的14个性状中,除后房宽度、尻角度和乳房底部3个性状平均分略低于75分,强壮度、后房高度、乳头位置和乳静脉4个性状的平均分高于80分外,其余7个性状的平均分都在75~80分之间。[结论]从乳用性能的角度看,牛群的平均体型尚处在较理想型和理想型之间,还有待进一步选育提高。     

对虾病原菌2—5B菌株16SrRNA基因片段的克隆和序列测定

用引物ＰＬ１－ＰＬ２ＰＣＲ扩增对虾病原菌－坎普氏弧菌２－５Ｂ菌株１６ＳｒＲＮＡ基因－１２２３ｂｐ的片段，采用ｐＵＣ１９质粒构建ｄＴ载体法完成该片段的克隆。部分序列测定及分析结果表明，该菌株与ＧｅｎＢａｎｋ中坎普氏弧菌标准株序列之间同源性为９６．９４％。     

Evaluation of β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucans and High-M alginate used as immunostimulatory dietary supplement during first feeding and weaning of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.)

Stimulation of the non-specific defence enhances the disease resistance and growth, and has good potentials as a measure for increased microbial control in juvenile production of marine fish and shellfish. So far, the most commonly used immunostimulants are β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucans, and in this study the stimulatory potential of a β-(1 → 3, 1 → 6)-glucan of marine origin, the storage polysaccharide from the marine diatom Chaetoceros mülleri, was examined. The glucan (chrysolaminaran) was extracted from cultures of C. mülleri, and used as a dietary supplement in two first feeding experiments with larvae of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. In one experiment the microalgal glucan was compared to the commercial yeast-glucan product MacroGard®, and in the other to an alginate with a high content of mannuronic acid (High-M alginate) isolated from Durvillaea antarctica. The stimulants were given via rotifers, and weaning to formulated feed was initiated at day 17 or 18 after hatching. The survival ± SEM at day 27 after hatching was 24.5 ± 2.0%, 14.8 ± 4.5% and 13.1 ± 1.4% for the groups fed C. mülleri-glucan, yeast glucan and for the control, respectively, in the first experiment. The group fed C. mülleri-glucan group had higher survival compared to the control (P < 0.05) group, whereas the yeast glucan had no positive effect on the survival (p > 0.05). The dry weights of the groups at day 27 were low, with 203.2 ± 52.2, 165.2 ± 43.4 and 198.5 ± 58.1 μg per larva for the C. mülleri-glucan, yeast glucan and control groups, respectively. In the second experiment the survival in the period of feeding formulated feed (days 18-30) were 44.6 ± 4.3%, 44.7 ± 1.3%, and 33.8 ± 4.1% survival for the C. mülleri-glucan, High-M alginate and control group, respectively. The cod larvae fed C. mülleri-glucan reached an average weight of 531.6 ± 17.2 μg at day 30, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the control group that had an average of 473.6 ± 3.5 μg. The larvae fed High-M alginate had an average weight of 470.3 ± 31.6 μg per larva at day 30, and not significantly different from the control (p > 0.05). The early weaning to formulated diet had detrimental effect on the growth of the larvae. In both experiments the C. mülleri-glucan group was the only group showing a positive growth rate in the period of weaning to dry feed. The microbial conditions in larval gut and water were monitored with respect to total colony forming units on Marine agar, and Vibrio- and Pseudomonas-like species on selective agars (TCBS and marine Pseudomonas Agar with CFC-supplement). The larvae were rapidly colonised after hatching, but no or weak effects of the stimulants were observed on the colonisation rates or the composition. The total CFU varied from 10¹ to 10² CFU per μg larva after initiation of the first feeding. The percentages of Pseudomonas-like bacteria increased throughout the period, whereas the levels of Vibrio-like bacteria were low and stable. The chrysolaminaran from the diatom C. mülleri was shown to be a promising candidate for use as an immunostimulatory feed additive, and which should be further explored.     

Benthic microbial indicators of fish farm impact in a coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea

We studied the impact of organic loads due to the biodeposition of a fish farm in a non-impacted coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). Sediment chemistry and benthic microbial community were investigated from July 1997 to February 1998 on monthly basis at two stations: one was located under the fish farm, while the second was about 1 km away, and served as a reference site. The presence of the cage induced rapid changes in the benthic conditions: the sediments were rapidly (after 6 weeks) reduced. A significant accumulation of biopolymeric carbon was observed beneath the cage both 2 weeks after the initial cage deployment, on non-impacted sediments, and 5–7 months after, and appeared to be related to the fish farm production cycle. The density of microbial communities beneath the fish farm increased only during the first month of farming activity (July) and partially 7 months after cage disposal (i.e. in January), when there was a significant sediment organic enrichment. Additional evidence of rapid impact of the fish farm on the benthic bacterial communities is provided by the increase in the numbers of autofluorescent microbial cells. The photosynthetic eukaryotic cells displayed a highly reduced contribution to total autofluorescent microbial density, indicating that their decrease is related with biopolymeric carbon accumulation, and probably was due also to “shadow effect” induced by suspended material, coming from the fish farm, on the environment below. We propose here, to apply the ratio of culturable heterotrophic bacteria to microbial direct counts (CFU/MDC) to detect fish farm impact. In cage sediments, organic enrichment and the consequent modification of the characteristics of the benthic environment, determined an increase in aerobic heterotrophic bacteria and vibrio density indicating that they are efficient colonizers of organic-rich sediments. Densities of Escherichia coli and Enterococci were not significantly higher than in the reference site, and are likely of terrestrial origin. Thus they cannot be used as specific indicators of fish farm impact.     

蛹虫草栽培中几种细菌性病原菌分离与鉴定

利用16S r DNA序列分析的方法,结合细菌形态特征及细菌生理生化鉴定,研究了蛹虫草栽培过程中易导致病害的3种细菌。结果表明,病原菌株E1与Flavobacterium chungangense,E2与Flavobacterium chungangense,E3与Janthinobacterium lividum的进化距离较小,同源性较高,初步确定分别与其同种。这对蛹虫草常见病害的防治研究具有重要的指导意义。     

Increased ectopic fat cells in the longitudinal muscularis layer of the oviduct isthmus in obese Japanese Black cows

In obese humans, mesenchymal stem cells differentiate to become ectopic fat cells in muscles. These ectopic fat cells inhibit the contraction of vascular smooth muscles. Stem cells have been recently identified in the human oviduct, a structure important in reproduction. We therefore investigated the number of Oil Red O (ORO)‐positive cells in the oviducts of control Japanese Black cows (n = 6; body condition score [BCS], 3.0 on a 5‐point scale) compared to those with diet‐induced obesity (n = 5; BCS, 4.0). We stained the ampulla and isthmus collected on the second day after ovulation with ORO and then counted the positive cells in each layer in 10 cross‐sections of the ampulla or isthmus. The obese group (23.4 ± 3.4 in the 10 sections) had larger numbers of ORO‐positive cells in the longitudinal muscularis of the isthmus (P < 0.05) than did the control group (15.0 ± 2.4). ORO‐positive cells were also observed in all other layers of the isthmus and ampulla; however, the number of cells in these layers did not differ significantly between obese cows and controls. Whether this observed increase in ORO‐positive cells in the oviducts of obese cows affects their reproduction warrants further study.     

鱼池不同水层细菌的密度、昼夜波动及其与主要环境因子的关系

鱼池细菌的密度为表层高于底层,表、底层细菌密度的差异以夏季最大,冬季次之,春秋两季最小。各季节池塘表层和底层的细菌密度在24h内均呈现一定程度的波动,但经昼夜波动后又大致回到原来水平。细菌密度与水温、COD、浮游动物生物量呈正相关,与浮游植物生物量无直接相关。     

玉米秸秆深翻还田土壤细菌群落16SrDNA-PCR-DGGE分析

以秸秆深翻还田土壤为研究对象,利用嵌套式PCR和DGGE电泳技术对细菌16SrDNA V3～V5区进行扩增和产物分离,分析3个秸秆深翻处理下春玉米各生育期土壤细菌群落变化,探索高寒灌溉农区春玉米秸秆深翻还田中细菌群落结构特征。结果初步表明,秸秆还田处理细菌多样性高于常规旋耕无秸秆还田处理,这种多样性同时受玉米生育期和不同秸秆还田处理的影响。3个处理相同生育期DGGE条带数有明显的变化,玉米秸秆深翻还田两年处理（SF-II）条带数最多,其次是玉米秸秆深翻还田1年处理（SF-I）,常规旋耕无秸秆还田（CK）最少;在成熟期,SF-II条带数为12,是CK处理的两倍。玉米全生育期一直存在数种优势菌群,但各时期细菌的种类不同,整体表现为随着玉米的生长细菌种类逐渐增加,成熟期减少。秸秆深翻还田能丰富土壤微生物多样性,玉米生长中期土壤微生物多样性较丰富。